JumpstART at The Mississippi Arts Center

Barr Elementary worked with the Mississippi Museum of Art on these collages from recycled materials depicting places in our community for their JumpstART project. JumpstART, a program of the Ask for More Arts Initiative is comprised of 21 JPS elementary schools. Parents for Public Schools- Greater Jackson is the convening partner of the Initiative.

Clausell Elementary created Chinese puppets using recycled milk gallons, brads, and coat hangers. When students from Casey saw these, they wanted to take them down from the wall, give them life, and improvise their own puppet show!

Third grade students from Casey's after-school ballet program with Ballet Mississippi toured the JumpstART exhibit after rehearsal for their upcoming recital at Thalia Mara Hall on Tuesday, May 12, at 6:00 pm. Here, they show off their ballet expertise in front of the art they created in partnership with artists George Miles and Shambé Jones.

This Casey student's writing includes hopes for her own future as well as Jackson's future:

I want to be an architect when I grow up so I can help people rebuild and redesign old buildings. It would help Jackson because Jackson has a lot of old buildings. I want to help make them a better place so people can enjoy them. I hope that other people will rebuild buildings. I want to have some buildings look like art. They will be colorful.

The JumpstART project gave the children of Jackson some colorful days. For some students, the JumpstART project provided their first opportunity to paint or work with an artist. For other students, the project may have helped them learn a core curriculum area at a deeper level or experience an art form in a new way. For some students, the JumpstART project may have opened doors or planted seeds for future careers. The city of Jackson should be proud of what Ask4MoreArts and Parents for Public Schools Greater Jackson has done working together with Jackson Public Schools, the business community, and local artists. As a parent, I have been inspired and reminded of the hope that springs from a community working together towards the common goal of creating rich learning experiences for the children of this city.

If you want to learn more about JumpstART, try these links:

The Jackson Free Press featured an article about JumpstART here.

You can read about the partnership between artist Sarah C. Campbell and Davis Magnet School on her blog here.

You can read articles about Casey's Jumpstart project on this blog under the label "JumpstART 2009."

The JumpstART Exhibit is currently running through May 17, 2009, at The Mississippi Arts Center.

Rhymes on Rhymes Place

close up of an original poem by Hannah

the recycled billboard waiting to be unveiled

more rhymes-- some familiar and some new

Art smart parents prepare bubbles for the celebration.

The last week of April hosted another successful year of Rhymes on Rhymes Place. Casey Elementary's carpool line is on a street named Rhymes Place. When her daughter was a first grade student at Casey, Thea Faulkner had a light-bulb moment while waiting to pick up her daughter in the Rhymes Place line. After talking and brainstorming with other parents, Rhymes on Rhymes Place was begun. This year's event is the third annual celebration of poetry and rhyming. It is a sustainable and special project coordinated by art smart parents who know that supporting teachers and students in creative ways helps everyone learn more and have fun in the process!

This year's parents assisted and led events all week long with an interactive and arts-integrated visit from Mother Goose (Julie Owen) and a visit from Monique McMillon who assists children in making special hats that correlate to poetry. Parents help children make pop-up books for their rhymes, they supervise writing rhymes on the sidewalk with chalk, and they facilitate copying rhymes onto a recycled billboard that becomes the Rhymes Place banner.

On the final day of the week-long focus on rhymes and poetry, all first grade students help to unveil their collective masterpiece on Rhymes Place. Parents provide bubbles and popsicles to help the children celebrate their hard work and creativity. Below is a short video of the unveiling!



If you are a first grade parent, I would love to hear about your thoughts and experiences of this special event. What did your child or children learn about rhyming and poetry? Did they have good stories to tell about the Rhymes on Rhymes Place week? Having participated in the event for three years, I believe it improves each year from everyone's ideas and collective wisdom.

Casey Arts Alive!

Last Saturday, families, teachers, and volunteers from the community spent time creating together and celebrating Casey Elementary. Over 40 people-- parents, staff, and community members-- gave time or resources to make this event happen. Thank you so much! Over 120 people attended the festival. The visual art contest had 25 entries. The Poetry Out Loud Celebration had over 15 entries-- including some last minute interest. The Art Smart Committee hopes that Casey Arts Alive will become an annual event and that each year's group of art smart parents will feel free to create the festival in new and exciting ways.

Below are slide shows from the day's events:

Dancing Together with instructor Sonita Singh



Visual Art Contest with judges Rachel Misenar, Roz Roy, and Limeul Eubanks and coordinated by Stephanie Ivy

Knitting Together with instructors Bonnie Bowley, Jennifer Deaton, Susan Nix, Donna Evans, and Kathy Devenney

Drawing Together with instructors Adrien Caroll-Perkins and Shannon Frost



Gardening Together with instructors Melanie Allen, Mrs. Morgan, and Robby Luckett

Music Together with Strings Instructor Tammy Luke and strings students

Transformation

Transformation

We searched for tiny, white worlds,
eggs on milkweed,
like Horton and his speck of dust.

Now, we are observing
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
who must eat
and grow,
eat
and
grow.

Watching children
watch their caterpillars
and care for them
creates a chrysalis
for us to share.

Our wonder spins the silk button that
anchors our retreat and reflection.

We become more.
We are monarchs.

We emerge
together,
daily,
to fly on wings of
books, drawings, dances,
paintings, poems, stories,
questions, songs, gardens,
and dreams.

Over the weekend, one of the monarch butterflies that my family and I have been raising emerged from her chrysalis. We did this project with several other Casey families after we rescued the eggs and harvested milkweed during a special Monarch Butterfly Rescue program of the Clinton Community Nature Center. I highly recommend this annual event to all families!

I wrote "Transformation" during the process of raising "Matilda" (in photos above) from an egg to a butterfly with my children and sharing her with groups of students at various schools. I had intended to read the poem for the Poetry Out Loud portion of our Casey Family Arts Festival on Saturday, May 2, but I couldn't find my poem when it was my turn.

I also wrote this poem while writing an essay about arts integrated education for Anne Foster's Education Blog for change.org. I do not claim to be a poet. However, I love reading poetry, and I like how the process of writing a poem distills my thoughts to what is essential. Both the field study/scientific experience of raising the monarch butterflies and the creative process of crafting my poem informed the writing of the essay. Likewise, drafting the essay informed the development of the poem. Finally, a little bit of my background as a children’s librarian found it’s way into the poem, too.

Casey Elementary and its emphasis on arts integration has transformed my children's lives and my life as a parent (and librarian), too.

photos of "Matilda the Monarch" taken by Julie Owen on May 3, 2009

Rhymes, Garden, Art, and Family Fun!

So much is happening in the Casey community this week that it is difficult to keep up with everything! Hopefully, I can pique your curiosity with these collages and short descriptions of each event. During the next two weeks, I will follow up with individual posts for each project. Art smart parents have been very busy!

First grade parents successfully implemented the third annual Rhymes on Rhymes Place complete with pop-up book making, poetry reading, arts integrated rhyming activities, banner making, and more.

The garden is growing, and will be featured as one of the main activities at our Casey Family Arts Festival on Saturday, May 2, from 1-4 pm. Stay tuned for a special announcement regarding Mississippi Public Broadcasting and our garden project!

Casey's JumpstART project is on display along with other projects from Ask4More Arts schools in the district at the Mississippi Arts Center now through May 17. The Arts Center is open Monday - Saturday, 10 am - 6 pm and Sunday, 1 pm - 5 pm. The exhibit opening is Saturday, May 2, 2009, from 10 am - 2 pm. You don't want to miss this amazing exhibit of student work with artists and teachers from 21 elementary schools in Jackson Public Schools.

In the collage above, judges score art entries in the visual art contest for the first ever Casey Family Arts Festival on Saturday, May 2, from 1-4 pm. Hands-on activities will be offered from 1-3 pm. Poetry Out Loud is from 3 to 4 pm. Come join us as we celebrate "Casey Arts Alive: A Celebration of Creating Together!" The visual art entries are on display. Hands-on activities are Gardening Together, Knitting Together, Dancing Together, and Drawing Together. This event is offered by Casey families for the Casey community.